afghan war

7/31/2019 Afghan War

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Soviet-Afghan War and

Falklands War Lsn 37


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Soviet-Afghan War

Afghanistansstrategic locationhas made it a

historic location of international conflictand intrigue

Underdevelopedcountry withdivided,quarrelsome tribes


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Soviet-Afghan War

In Apr 1978 the Peoples Democratic Partyof Afghanistan overthrew the governmentof Mahammed Daoud Armed resistance to the new Marxist

government broke out and the rulinggovernment split into factions

The Soviets were concerned about thisinstability on their southern border and in Dec1979 they supported a coup


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Soviet-Afghan War

Soviet units already inKabul seized controlof key sites and

additional unitscrossed the border into Afghanistan andseized important cities

The Soviets installedBabrak Karmal aspresident

Babrak Karmal


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Soviet-Afghan War The Soviets anticipated a

quick collapse of anyresistance Afghanistan had just

15 million peoplecompared to theUSSRs 265 million

Afghan tribes had littleunity

The Afghans had onlyobsolete rifles andequipment left over from World War II

Soviet soldier in Afghanistan
http://images.suite101.com.s3.amazonaws.com/177368_43mi4.jpg


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Soviet-Afghan War During the first four years of

the war, the Soviets held themajor urban areas andlaunched attacks against themujahideen, the Afghanguerrillas, in remote andoften mountainous areas

The resistance grew as morethan half of the 80,000soldiers in the Afghan army

deserted or joined themujahideen Many brought their

weapons with them


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Soviet-Afghan War

The mujahideen usedclassic guerrilla tacticsconducting small-scaleattacks and ambushingSoviet and governmentconvoys along the roads

The mujahideen alsobenefited fromsanctuaries in Pakistanand Iran as bases of support and training Soviet vehicle passing through

the mountains in Afghanistan


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Soviet-Afghan War

Initially the Soviets employed traditionalmechanized tactics including division-sized offensives against mujahideen

sanctuaries Soon, however, the Soviets realized that

the rugged terrain gave the guerrillasnumerous advantages The guerrillas had plenty of places to hide and

were not confined to using the roads


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Soviet-Afghan War Within months the

Soviets began changingthe structure of their units and their tactics,

shifting to decentralized,mobile operationsconducted at thebattalion task force level

Increasingly the Sovietsrelied on air-transportedinfantry and their airmobile tactics came toresemble those of theUS in Vietnam


10/17

Soviet-Afghan War The mujahideen began receiving weapons from the

West including mines, recoilless rifles, and smallantiaircraft guns

Using their small unit tactics and cross border

sanctuaries they attacked with little strategic or tacticalpurpose other than to kill Soviet soldiers The Soviet responded with rocket attacks into Kabul and

other important cities and scorched earth tacticsdesigned to starve and terrorize the guerrillas intosubmission

The Soviets also used chemicals Still the mujahideen resisted


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Soviet-Afghan War

By 1984 the Soviets had to choosebetween a massive increase in forces or adifferent strategy

Reluctant to increase their strengthbeyond 125,000 to 140,000 soldiers, theSoviets instead shifted their strategy fromdestroying guerrillas to destroying theinfrastructure the guerrillas needed for support


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Soviet-Afghan War The Soviets attacked

the supply lines fromPakistan, the border areas that provided

sanctuary, andvillages suspected of sheltering guerrillas

They destroyedlivestock and crops

Attacks onpopulation centersbecame routine


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Soviet-Afghan War The new tactics

created a massiveamount of refugees

30-50% of the

population wasestimated to havefled Afghanistan by1986

Still the Sovietshad little controloutside the urbancenters

Sharbat Gula, photographed in Nasir Baghrefugee camp in Pakistan, appeared on thecover of National Geographic in 1985 andwas found 17 years later by the National

Geographic photographic team
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Sharbat_Gula.png


14/17

Soviet-Afghan War In Feb 1986 the US

decided to send high-technology weapons to

Afghanistan, includingthe Stinger air defensemissile

The guerrillas successin shooting down Sovietaircraft caused theSoviets to limit

helicopter assaults, andin 1987 and 1988 mostoperations reverted toreliance on mechanizedinfantry formations

The first 340 Stinger missiles firedby Afghan guerrillas brought down269 Soviet aircraft.


15/17

Soviet-Afghan War As the mobility of the

Soviets was reduced,they were forced towithdraw from the moreremote areas andsought to secure theurban areas

This developmentturned the tide of thebattle in favor of the

mujahideen who thenbegan using trucksinstead of pack animalsand roads instead of trails

A Soviet soldier in Afghanistan in 1988
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Evstafiev-Soviet-soldier-Afghanistan.jpg


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Soviet-Afghan War

In Nov 1986 Mohammed Najibullah replacedKarmal as president Najibullah adopted a more Islamic public image in an

attempt to sway the mujahideen and changed thecountrys name from the Democratic Republic of

Afghanistan to the Republic of Afghanistan in anattempt to appear less Marxist

Militarily the Soviets launched air raids against

mujahideen bases in Pakistan, droppedthousands of mines along supply routes, andstepped up their attacks on villages


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Soviet-Afghan War These last ditch efforts could

not change the strategicsituation

In early 1988 the mujahideenestimated that they controlled80% of the countryside

Fighting a losing war in Afghanistan and facingeconomic difficulties at home,the Soviets decided to cuttheir losses

In Apr 1988 they signed apeace accord

The last Soviet soldier departed Afghanistan on Feb15, 1989

Soviet convoysleaving Afghanistan
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Evstafiev-afghan-apc-passes-russian.jpg

afghan war

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